Norwegian artist Martin Whatson certainly maximized his time during his latest Aalborg trip by completing two stellar murals for this year’s ‘Out in the Open’ series at KIRK Gallery.
The big lift had to go for quite an awkward ride to reach a little green house from the 1930’s situated in a pretty Aalborg street with houses of various colored facades, sitting elegantly under red roofs.
Here, Martin decided to underline the simplicity and beautiful stringency in the color and shape of the vibrant houses by creating a delicate ballerina in a multicolored skirt; perfectly at home in such a picturesque street.
Welcoming the artist with lots and joy and anticipation, the residents of the house invited the artist for dinner and within only 24 hours, the mural was finished.
Martin Whatson titled this piece ’Passé’ (one of the main ballet poses) depicting a beautiful ballerina on a delicate gray background. Martin’s ‘Rock Climber’ mural for this year’s project is situated further along the road, and I can imagine the residents feeling particularly grateful for his latest pair of interventions.
Martin draws inspiration from posters, people, urban landscapes and has a particular fondness for decaying walls, abandoned buildings, and graffiti. He is known for finding beauty in what is often labelled ugly, cast off or just ignored and this interest in decay has helped Martin develop the style of his unique stencil scenes.
The artist enjoys creating either harmony or conflict between materials and backgrounds. Although his artistic expression started out as political, his work is more gentle these days. Martin likes to leave subtle messages and statements about the world today on which anyone can reflect and draw their own conclusions. He found early inspiration from artists like Banksy, Cy Twombly and Jose Parlá and has since collaborated with other urban artists such as Roamcouch, Pure Evil and Snik as well as participating in many group shows around the globe.
Many of this murals can be found in Stavanger or Oslo, cities of his homeland.
Prints of his work are rarely found in galleries as the majority of his editions are limited to only a few copies and are usually hand finished. Due to that, most of his works are sold to private collectors.
Martin has featured his work at KIRK Gallery for some time now and Aalborg is certainly a prettier place for his two recent pieces.
Martin Whatson: website | facebook | instagram
KIRK Gallery: website | facebook | instagram
